1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data management method for an injection molding system including an injection molding machine and a molded-product removing robot that removes a product molded by the injection molding machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
One known type of injection molding system consists of an injection molding machine and a robot that removes, from a mold, a product molded by the injection molding machine. In this injection molding system, a mold matching the products to be molded is mounted on the injection molding machine, and molding conditions (clamping force, mold open position, injection speed, hold pressure, metering speed, metering position, etc.) for that mold are set in the injection molding machine. When brought into operation, the injection molding machine molds products by performing injection molding based on the molding conditions that have been set.
In each molding cycle, the molded-product removing robot removes a molded product when the mold is opened, but the robot movement for removing the molded product depends on the type of mold (on the mold structure). Different molded-product removing programs must be taught to the robot according to the product to be molded. In some cases, different molds used in the injection molding machine have the same settings, but it is still necessary to teach the robot a different program for each mold; in other cases, the same robot teaching program (robot movement pattern) is used for different molds, but the different molds require different position settings or auxiliary movement settings; in still other cases, it is necessary both to teach the robot a separate program and set separate data for each mold.
In a conventional injection molding system having an injection molding machine and molded-product removing robot, whenever the mold is changed, a set of molding conditions is read or saved through the controller of the injection molding machine, and a different program and/or setting data is read or saved through the controller of the molded-product removing robot.
A set of molding conditions for a mold is paired with the teaching program and/or setting data for a robot. Thus, once a mold is selected, the molding conditions and the program and/or setting data for the molded-product removing robot are determined. If a set of molding conditions or a robot teaching program not matching the mold is set by mistake, the system will not operate. To avoid such mistakes, a conventional practice is to store the molding conditions and robot teaching program etc. in separate files to which corresponding file names, such as the mold number, are assigned. The molding conditions and the robot teaching program and/or setting data matching the mold can then be set correctly in the controller of the injection molding machine and robot controller.
In the conventional injection molding system consisting of an injection molding machine and a molded-product removing robot, each time the molding conditions and robot teaching program and/or setting data are saved or read, two saving or reading procedures are required: one performed on the control panel of the controller of the injection molding machine, and another performed on the control panel of the controller of the molded-product removing robot.
As the molding conditions for a mold are to be paired with the corresponding robot teaching program and/or setting data as described above, they must be set in the injection molding machine and molded-product removing robot separately. However, the set of molding conditions and the robot teaching program and/or setting data are stored in separate files, so even if the files are managed by mold numbers or the like, an error made in specifying corresponding numbers or an error in a file reading operation can produce a mismatch between the molding conditions and the robot teaching program and/or setting data.